'It's you! Yasuo!!! Hasekage!!!'
'What Yasuo, this is clearly Ashina Yoshitaka!'
'There's a fly on the detail knife!'
'Happy Wind Man doesn't seem very happy.'
'This composition, this transition, Lingjing's technology is becoming more and more refined!'
'Young Wolf is really tiny compared to Owl.'
......
The audience was amused because Wolf's model had the texture of a CG character like Yasuo, combined with the realism of a human face.
Adult Wolf became Owl's adopted son, or rather, was trained by Owl into a death seeker who only obeyed his commands.
The first mission assigned to the accomplished Wolf by his adoptive father was to protect the Prince of Ashina. Upon receiving the order, Wolf's eyes remained cold, but his brow furrowed.
Then,
The scene shifted, and snowflakes fell from the sky.
On a silent path, a woman holding a red oil-paper umbrella walked leisurely.
Rustle—
She dropped an envelope into the valley, "Please wake up... for your master..."
The barrage of comments instantly flooded with 'cease and desist letters', shattering the atmosphere.
However, Zhou Jie paid no mind to these comments, as her consciousness had already been poured into Wolf's body.
Looking at the rugged mountain path before her, Zhou Jie first took some time to adapt to her new body.
Once she had fully mastered running, jumping, striking, and punching, Zhou Jie picked up the letter:
[A letter thrown into a well by someone.
To Lord Wolf.
Your destiny
Is now in Gekko Tower.
Please leave the well and proceed.
Even if you have no blade,
You can reach it by stealth.]
"Is there no beginner tutorial level?"
Seeing the contents of the letter, Zhou Jie was slightly taken aback. This wasn't the usual style of the old thief. Shouldn't she spend a day in a beginner level first?
Why was she getting a quest right at the start?
Isn't this too fast?
However, Zhou Jie's questions received no response, only a prompt in the upper left corner, [Letter], guiding her to stealthily reach Gekko Tower.
Of course, stealth was necessary; Wolf only had one-tenth of his health left, and could only take one more hit before dying.
Clarifying her thoughts, Zhou Jie leaped out of the well.
[Ashina Castle Water Gate]
Zhou Jie stealthily and without incident reached Gekko Tower.
On the Gekko Tower terrace, candlelight flickered.
The Prince sat by the window, reading quietly. Seeing Zhou Jie arrive, the Prince's face lit up with joy, "Long time no see, Wolf."
"Fokemi, Prince."
Zhou Jie waved her hand, signaling the Prince to retreat.
"Yes..."
The Prince nodded, but did not immediately follow Zhou Jie. Instead, he turned back into the room and took out a three-foot-six-inch long sword, entirely purple.
He presented the sword to Zhou Jie, "This is your sword, Ziying."
A familiar feeling of receiving equipment from a beginner village NPC washed over Zhou Jie. Just as she was about to take the sword, the Prince continued, "In accordance with the master-servant covenant, pledge your life and loyalty to me."
"Heh, quite ceremonial."
Zhou Jie nodded slightly, took the Ziying sword with both hands, and said generously, "ojBk."
[Ziying Sword
An ancient relic, its hilt shaped like a dragon, with a long tip resembling a purple lightning bolt. It is similar to ordinary swords in form, with an ancient and peculiar design, emitting a strong treasure light. With a slight wave, the sword's trailing light appears like a spirit snake flicking its tongue, shimmering non-stop, with the radiance sometimes reaching over ten feet.
There is also a sword called Qingsuo sword. Together, they are known as the Purple-Green Twin Swords.]
"Wow, such a good item."
After reading the introduction to the Ziying sword, Zhou Jie secretly gasped, "In some games, you'd need five 648s or more to draw out such a treasure."
'Some Goose: You might as well just say my name.'
'Gotta say, this sword is indeed a bit domineering.'
'Purple-Green Twin Swords, the two swords united!'
'Is everyone's attention on the sword? Did anyone else notice how cute the Prince is?'
'So cute, must be a Lan child!'
......
The bullet comments continued to scroll by. Upon hearing them, Zhou Jie circled the Prince a few more times, wanting to reach out and touch him to see if the Prince was a boy or a girl.
But she was blocked by an invisible wall, apparently triggering the NPC protection mechanism.
Feeling the resistance, Zhou Jie sheepishly retracted her "criminal" hand, "Stingy, won't even let me touch you."
Searching the room, Zhou Jie found some Pills of Freedom to restore status and a Divine Health Gourd for immediate healing, along with other supplies.
After searching, Zhou Jie returned to the Prince's side. Through dialogue, she triggered a new plotline. Wolf's memory seemed to be missing, the specific reason for which was a plot hole left by the designer, requiring players to explore it themselves.
After completing the initial quest, the main storyline officially began.
Zhou Jie took the lead, taking a few pills to slightly replenish her state, and then prepared to escape with the Prince.
Opening the door, a skill scroll was directly shoved in her face:
[Salted Fish Lunge Strike: Player's attacks can increase the opponent's posture. When their posture is full, using Salted Fish Lunge Strike can kill them in one blow.]
[Stealth Assassination: Sneak up behind the enemy. It will have a surprising effect.]
"This... is this the technique that the old thief and that UP lord demonstrated?"
Recalling the technique Lu Li used during his stream, Zhou Jie suddenly understood, then fell into distress, "So, when I face Xingyiichiro later, I'll only have these two techniques? No others?" 138 Reading Network
After accepting the usage of the two techniques, Zhou Jie's expression grew even more grim, "With these initial two skills, am I not just asking for punishment?"
Looking back at that battle, it seemed more and more absurd!
No wonder, from the release of demo slots to the official launch of "Sekiro," only Bai Zhiyuan was the one who released a video of defeating Xingyiichiro.
Turns out, those ten lucky ones hadn't managed to defeat Xingyiichiro during their half-month of practice. Thinking about it, it's understandable, as relying solely on these two basic skills is indeed torturous.
Walking out the door, a guard with a wooden club was idling by the stairs.
Zhou Jie quietly snuck behind him. There was a white spot on the guard's shoulder blade, indicating her attack location. When the white spot turned into a scarlet red dot, Zhou Jie decisively struck.
*Thwack!*
Covering her mouth with one hand, she drove the Ziying sword into the guard's body with the other, easily dispatching a beginner village primitive guard.
Next, she rushed down the stairs and directly confronted and easily dispatched a second primitive guard.
This also alerted the soldier beside him, who was holding a curved sword and wearing wooden armor.
Having tasted the only sweet treat in the game, the true challenge for players began.
The armored soldier held his sword with both hands, leaped into the air, and swung it heavily towards Zhou Jie's face. Zhou Jie raised her sword horizontally to block.
*Clang!!*
A crisp ringing sound followed, and then Zhou Jie's scream, "Ouch, my hand!"
Zhou Jie's sword-wielding hand immediately went numb. She had only set the haptic feedback to 30%, which was clearly still too high.
*Thwack!*
After speaking, she took another hit, and her already precarious health bar was reduced to half.
"Huh?"
At this moment, Zhou Jie finally realized something was wrong. This soldier was not on the same level as the previous guards at all!
*Clang clang clang!!*
After another fierce clash, Zhou Jie seized the opportunity. Once the opponent's posture was full, she successfully dispatched the armored soldier with a Salted Fish Lunge Strike, but her health bar was already critically low.
After taking a few pills to recover, Zhou Jie encountered several more samurai wielding curved swords.
The samurai's attacks were fast, and required precise timing for parrying. A slight mistake would result in a quarter of her health being shaved off.
Fortunately, with high agility and low defense, the samurai's defense was very low. As long as she successfully parried, she could defeat them with one strike.
After dealing with a few waves of samurai soldiers, Zhou Jie encountered the first elite monster in her gaming career – Shanzhong.
Shanzhong looked like an enhanced version of a samurai, wearing light armor, and wielding a jet-black long sword that gleamed ominously.
"Haa!"
Shanzhong shouted and drew his sword first, striking at Zhou Jie.
*Clang!*
*Swish—!*
"Huh?"
Zhou Jie was stunned. She blocked it, so why did she still take a hit?
However, Shanzhong did not give her much time to think. The next attack, a "New Year's Greeting sword technique," followed.
*Clang!*
*Thwack—!*
"Huh?"
*Clang clang clang—!!*
*Thwack—!!*
*Thwack—!!*
[NOOB]
The bright red Chinese characters, combined with Zhou Jie's previous embarrassed retreat, made the word [NOOB] on the screen incredibly mocking.
It was as if the designer was defecating on the player's head through the screen.
???
Already furious from the fight, Zhou Jie's face turned red upon seeing [NOOB] in her vision after dying, and she immediately lost her composure.
"Holy—shit—!"
"Your—mother—!"
"De—sign—er—!!!"
......
(The first 400 chapters of my writing career, a commemoration!!!)
(I'm really a [NOOB]!!!)